Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo McDonald senior Malina Mitchell loosens up before the 1,600-meter run March 31 at the Joe Lane Invitational in Mineral Ridge.

MINERAL RIDGE — Malina Mitchell stood in Lane 4, but not for long.

Her energy had her jumping up and down before getting ready for a 1,600-meter run, mostly to keep herself warm.

The cold breezes swept through the low-lying area at the March 31 Joe Lane Invitational.

No one came within 200 meters of the McDonald senior distance runner in the final laps.

Head scratch. How could this be possible?

Almost four months ago, her leg was propped up on a foam cushion. She sat on a chair just past the grassy finish line at the state cross country meet, taking 90th place. Unfamiliar territory.

Stress fracture in the right tibia.

She kept fighting the inevitable starting in late September.

Mitchell had a walking boot strapped to her, which felt more like an anchor to the West Virginia recruit, when she did not run.

She didn’t want to be slowed down. She never does.

Mitchell had light workouts leading up to races. She knew the fracture was there in September, but never wanted her senior cross country season to end. How could it?

Mitchell remained one of the area’s and state’s best distance runners. Losing that edge was never an option until the pain became too unbearable.

It ended in the first Saturday in November on the outer parts of a drag strip converted into a state cross country meet, just off the the two-lane road about a mile west of Hebron.

It’s not the first time. Mitchell was hit by a car, suffering a broken leg during her sophomore year. This was the second of two stress fractures at McDonald.

It’s never been an ordeal, just conquering a challenge.

“It’s almost like a challenge to her,” said McDonald girls cross country coach Mike Richards. “It’s another setback, but I’m not going to let this stop me.”

Mitchell spent the next four months after state cross country swimming, biking, going on the elliptical, core workouts and lifting. Running was out until she fully recovered.

“I feel like every time I have a setback I come back even stronger,” Mitchell said.

That mentality was always there. Nancy Mitchell, Malina’s mother, saw her playing youth soccer.

The young midfielder was always quicker that the rest on the pitch. Not much has changed. Her plastic cleats became short, metallic spikes on undulating grassy surfaces, trying to cross a finish line about 3 miles away.

Nancy remembers how Malina stayed late after soccer games with The Rockers and TC United, trying to hone her skills. Not much has changed.

Malina grew up in a McDonald where distance running isn’t a sport. It’s more of a community-wide lifestyle perpetuated by the influence of the Domitrovich and Rupe families. Malina couldn’t escape her calling as she eventually saw the natural speed on the pitch morph into a passion for running.

“We kind of knew watching her then she would probably end up being a runner,” Nancy said.

Malina dominated her junior high competitors, yearning for a challenge. She found it in current Grove City College runner Heidi Hoffman, who was then McDonald’s top female distance runner.

Mitchell viewed Hoffman as a training partner, trying to learn from her and improve.

Mitchell eventually became the school’s top runner and has three sophomores in Anna Guerra, Bella Wolford and Sela Jones as heir apparents. The four are among Division IIIs best 4×800-meter relays.

Nancy said Guerra, Wolford and Jones are like Malina’s sisters.

“Honestly, sometimes I feel like they follow me around,” Malina said. “That’s a good thing. By the time they’re a senior they’ll be in my same shoes and signing with Division I colleges as well.”

WVU coach Sean Cleary, the school’s cross country and track and field coach, watched an online video from one of Mitchell’s cross country races.

Cleary admits he doesn’t normally peruse this particular running site often, but there was something about Mitchell that caught his eye — making him pause more than a couple of seconds. He spent 15 to 20 minutes, watching her highlights and heard a subsequent interview. Cleary was intrigued. He told an assistant coach to find a way to contact Mitchell.

“When I watched her, I realized you had somebody who was absolutely into her team as much as she was into herself,” Cleary said. “She’s selfless in terms of the team. I think her personality was infectious.”

There were other girls from bigger schools who were faster, but there was something about Mitchell’s potential.

Leg speed and great attitude are reasons why Mitchell will succeed at WVU.

Cleary wants her to enjoy her senior year before giving her a summer training schedule, keeping up the same level of success, eventually working her way up in the collegiate ranks.

It’s the next challenge of Mitchell’s career.

“That’s what I wanted, a program I can go and improve, not somewhere I can go, get some money and kind of coast through the motions,” she said. “That was really important to me.”